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This Wednesday, at 22:00 Lithuanian time, the final of the Spanish King's Cup (Copa del Rey) will take place in Barcelona. This cup was established in 1902 and has been contested annually with rare exceptions in 1937 and 1938. The team that has won this cup the most is "Barcelona" players, achieving it 24 times, but this year they were defeated in the quarterfinals with a score of 1-2 by the finalists of this year - "Zaragoza" players.
In the final on Wednesday, the leaders of the Spanish championship, Madrid's "Real" players, who have won this cup 17 times, will face the "Zaragoza" team, who have won it 5 times. Madrid's "Real" last triumphed in 1993, defeating "Zaragoza" 2-0 in the final. Since that final, "Zaragoza" has celebrated victory twice: in 1994 and 2001.
"Zaragoza," currently occupying the 15th place in the Spanish league, reached the final by scoring an away goal against the "Alaves" team in the second league, resulting in a 1-1 draw as there were no goals in the return match. Meanwhile, Madrid's "Real" players defeated the "Sevilla" players in the semi-finals, winning 2-0 at home and losing by a smaller margin 1-0 away.
"We must draw the right conclusions as we have not won this cup for more than 10 years," said British superstar David Beckham of the Royal Club.
Madrid's "Real," whose top scorer in the Spanish league Ronaldo is sidelined due to injury, are favored with odds of 13/10 to win the cup at the "WilliamHill" betting office, while "Zaragoza" are at 65/10. It is worth mentioning that both teams met at Santiago Bernabeu stadium last Saturday and the result was 1-1.
The King's Cup grants the right to play in the UEFA Cup next season. However, even if "Zaragoza" does not become the owners of this cup tomorrow, they have still earned the right to play in the UEFA Cup, as Madrid's "Real" has already secured a spot in the Champions League next year.
